Life and issues on the beautiful south side of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia, with regular updates. Scroll down for past blogs.
My name is Peter Best. I live in Melville and I've written and authorised all these topics, but not the responses. You are welcome to come with me to volunteer in local places. Please feel free to contact me on 0418 942 476 or add your comments to our community blog. What are your thoughts?

Monday, 5 August 2013

Saving the Cygnet Cinema

The Cygnet Cinema needs our help. Built in 1938 by Jimmy Stiles, this Art Deco treasure has delighted our families for years. Graham, the manager, tells me that we are at the end of the road for celluloid film strips; it’s all going digital. Lots of us have talked about this for a few years. Now it’s time we got active to protect this wonder to enjoy it in the future. Will you help too, please?

To catch up on the conversation so far you can click on these links to my previous blogs:

Lots of people have joined the conversation. Here’s what they say. First off: before anything, what is our purpose? Perhaps it is to obtain and provide a digital projector. Tony Barber, a really good accountant, says that we should form an Incorporated Body, with a constitution. Then, my friends at the Institute of Company Directors say that we should form a Board of community representatives to manage governance. This is other people’s money after all. Would five be about the right number? Who should they be?

Tony and a local lawyer suggest that the body, not the cinema owners, should own the equipment. There would be other words about ultimate disposal and safeguards. We had a talk about charitable status and tax deductibility and concluded that was pretty unlikely.

Along the way I found two local suppliers of this digital equipment, so there’d be competitive pricing. One of the roles of the Board would be selecting a supplier. Costs are likely to be between fifty and one hundred thousand dollars. Management of funds would be the major responsibility in early stages. A continuing role would be the relationship with the owners, the Stiles family. I expect that contributions would come in both large and small sizes. We could use internet ‘crowd-funding’ to gather wide community support.

Suggested steps (please comment below):

meet at the Cygnet Esther Girls coffee shop

form a group, with a name and a purpose

meet with owners (regularly)

obtain price quotes

write a constitution with safeguards

register an Incorporated Body

set up a single-purpose account

seek commitments and deposits

(funds returned if no action taken)

obtain equipment

arrange with owners re installation

Graham, the manager, says that December will see the closure of the Cygnet if we can’t find a way through this. If we do nothing the Cygnet will crumble in neglect. With your help it will shine.

Please add comments below, or email me, so we can all benefit from your wisdom and vision.

Hi Pete ,When Pam and I were courting more than 60 years ago ,the Cygnet on Saturday night was one of our regular dates and is still one of our regular outings.

I agree that $100000 is not a large amount these days and could be raised easily .I did suggest to the theatre that a $10 levee ( voluntarily ) on ticket saleswould raise that in a short time . It must be saved and we would like to be part of any campaign .

My parents bought their House in Como in 1941 and all our family have grown up there...we used to go to the movies every Friday night and remember well the outdoor movies in the deck chairs....it would be a shame to see this theatre close...maybe run movies with the money to go towards new equipment and advertise it far and wide..have special nights...would love to see the outdoor movies come back too.....it is one in a million and should be kept going...Pauline. Elshaw

Who am I?

My home is in the City of Melville, WA. I enjoy my community, my neighbours and all that makes this place special. I volunteer as Justice of the Peace. Four years as City Councillor in South Perth helped me to learn more about working effectively with diverse community groups. Owning a local business and working in the Pilbara taught me about long term planning and resilience. I’ve coached local sports teams, worked in Africa and helped local charities in WA. I’ve learned much from the diversity of people in our city.
Growing up in inland Australia, I learned early that when something needed doing it was best to roll up my sleeves and to get started. There’s work to be done here to ensure that future generations enjoy Perth as much as we do. Balancing environmental, social and economic components of our future is important to me. I hope this matters to you too. My family, my friends and my neighbours all tell me they want to feel safe, they want to feel good about the future and to know there’s someone listening to them. Taking care of these needs is what I do. You can call me any time. I feel obliged to be helpful because I have received so much from others.